# Naviera Armas

Naviera Armas is a Spanish company, founded in the 1940s, which operates a number of ferry services in Spain. The company mainly operates in the Canary Islands, with additional routes connecting the Canary Islands and the north African coast to the Spanish mainland. As of August 2019, the company operates a fleet of 11 ferries and 5 fast ferries.

## History

Naviera Armas was founded in 1941 in Lanzarote by Antonio Armas Curbelo. Its initial activities were dedicated to the inter-island transport of salt and freight using wooden-hull boats. With the years, the company included steel-hull ships in its fleet and expanded to the old province of Spanish Sahara.
In 1975, the company introduced the first roll-on/roll-off vessels in the Canary Islands. However, it was not until 1995 that the company began to offer passenger services.
2003 saw the beginning of a fleet renewal plan with the arrival of the Volcán de Tindaya.
In 2008, the company started offering services to Portimão, Portugal with a stopover on the Portuguese island of Madeira. However, in 2013, the service to Madeira was abruptly withdrawn due to a dispute over harbour fees. Services resumed in the summer of 2018 as a seasonal offering between 2 July and 20 September, being operated by Grupo Sousa using Naviera Armas's ship Volcán de Tijarafe, which provided the crossing prior to the 2013 discontinuation. With a maximum speed of 23 knots, the crossing was scheduled to take 24 hours. In the summer of 2019, this service was provided using the ship Volcán de Timanfaya.

## Fleet

Naviera Armas operates a fleet of eleven ferries and five fast ferries. The fast ferries were acquired as a response to competition from rival Canary Islands ferry company Fred. Olsen Express, which operates an entirely high speed fleet.
Not all of the ships operated by Armas are owned by the company. Those owned by Armas follow the company's naming convention: "Volcán de" followed by a name starting with the letter T.
Ferries operated by Naviera Armas :
| Name | Built | Entered service | Tonnage | Notes |
| Volcán de Taburiente | 2006 | 2006 | 12,895 GT | Los Cristianos – San Sebastian de La Gomera - Santa Cruz de La Palma |
| Volcán de Tamadaba | 2007 | 2007 | 19,976 GT | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Arrecife |
| Volcán de Tamasite | 2004 | 2004 | 17,343 GT | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Morro Jable |
| Volcán de Tauce | 1995 | 1995 | 9,667 GT | Algeciras - Tanger Med |
| Volcán de Teneguía | 1997 | 1997 | 11,197 GT | Gran Canaria - Tenerife - Huelva |
| Volcán de Timanfaya | 2005 | 2005 | 17,343 GT | Arrecife - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
| Volcán de Tindaya | 2003 | 2003 | 3,715 GT | Corralejo - Playa Blanca. Entered service in 2003. Crossing time 35 mins. |
| Volcán del Tinamar | 2011 | 2011 | 29,757 GT | Huelva - Tenerife - Gran Canaria |
Fast ferries operated by Naviera Armas :
| Name | Built | Enterered service | Tonnage | Notes | Source |
| Alborán | 1999 | 2014 | 6.346 GT | Incat Hull 052. Timechartered to Naviera Armas, Los Cristianos - Puerto de la Estaca | |
| Volcán de Tirajana | 2002 | 2015 | 6,581 GT | Incat Hull 062, 98 x 26 metres, 35 knots operational speed. 900 passengers, 287 cars | |
| Volcán de Teno | 2000 | 2016 | 6,360 GT | Incat Hull 056. 96 x 27 metres, 38 knots (70 kmh) service speed. 966 passengers, 290 cars. / Motril-Al Hoceïma (NOVEMBER 2017, laid up in Cadiz) | |
| Volcán de Tagoro | July 2019 | August 2019 | 10,800 GT | Incat 091. 111 x 31 metres, 35 knots operational speed, 1184 pass (155 business class), 390 cars. Cost €74 million | |
| Volcán de Taidia | 2021 | 2021 | 10,800 GT | Incat 093. 111 x 31 metres, 35 knots operational, same class of ship as Volcan de Tagoro | . |

## Photo gallery

* Ferry leaving Los Cristianos
* Ferry at Playa Blanca
* Ferry in Los Cristianos
* Volcan de Tijarafe leaving Funchal
* Volcan de Timanfaya near Tenerife
* Volcan de Tagoro entering Las Palmas